This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew is back in action (we had to leave due to a prior committment last week, and time was tight) in the heart of Virginia for this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, complete with all the fixin's you can think of, and washed down with PLENTY of Budweiser. (Be sure to drink responsibly; we here at the crew want to see you get home in one piece.) Before I get to my nominees, I have to give a shout out to the first responders of 9/11/01. THEY are the true heroes, along with our brave servicemen and women.
THE GOOD
First Responders/Armed Forces: you all are the true heroes. You did your jobs in the wake of a terrible attack on our nation, and you did it to the very best of your ability. Great job, guys and gals. May we NEVER forget and take for granted the job you do.
Kevin Harvick: it's been awhile since we've seen you here. Normally, I put the winning driver first, but since the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 is tomorrow, I put the First Responders/Armed Forces first. Now back to Harvick. He had the dominant car tonight, but got caught in the pits when the caution came out midway through the race. He had to take the wave around. In the following run, he made up many positions. On the money stop, he came out first, then subsequently drove away on the restart. He had to hold off a hard-charging Carl Edwards to win his fourth race of the season and tie Kyle Busch in the points heading into the Chase. (It's too bad it's not the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 anymore; he'd have had the hot band of the moment in Victory Lane with him like he did with the Barenaked Ladies in 2006.)
Carl Edwards: he had the car to beat midway into the race. He had the best car on the longer runs, but the final run was too short a time for him to contend for the win. Had there been a few more laps to go, we'd be seeing him and not Harvick in Victory Lane.
Jeff Gordon: he took the lead from Harvick late but a subsequent caution and a less than stellar pit stop bit him. He came out fourth after the final pit stop, got shuffled back a bit on the subsequent restart, but rallied to finish third. He enters the Chase with momentum, extending a streak of top 13 finishes he started at Infineon. He'll be tough to beat in the Chase.
David Ragan: he gave a whale of an effort to win the race, and had he won, he'd have clinched a Chase berth and not Denny Hamlin. Ragan was solid all night long. Although he never led, he was consistently in the top 10 throughout the race. Unfortunately for Ragan, rumors are swirling that Clint Bowyer could be moving into the 6 car and Ragan into a third RPM car. Regardless, a very solid run by Ragan.
Kurt Busch: he had quite the adventure this evening, particularly with Jimmie Johnson. They couldn't seem to stay away from one another. This observer couldn't help but laugh when he envisioned a fight between Busch and Johnson. (Slap fight, perhaps?)
Kyle Busch: patience was the word du jour for his race. He went a lap down, rallied, and subsequently finished sixth. Patience and Kyle Busch haven't always gotten along. This should serve him well in the last 10 races. An extra Good goes to Kyle for having the best paint scheme.
Tony Stewart: he's run the best he has this season when he's needed it. He clinched a spot in the Chase with his seventh place finish, and Smoke has some momentum now. Chicagoland is a track he's always run well at. (He needed to finish 14th or better.) Good job Smoke!
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: he had some harrowing moments tonight, but righted the car, finished 14th, and clinched his Chase berth.
Denny Hamlin: he clinched the final wild-card berth when Menard found trouble, and Ragan didn't win the race.
Honorable Mention: Ryan Newman and Mark Martin.
THE BAD
Paul Menard: he needed to win to clinch a Chase berth. He had a bad run and found trouble. He finished the race, but in 34th, 81 laps down. (I normally put the first start and parker here, but the DFL driver finished last due to an accident, so that doesn't count.)
Jeff Burton: the momentum he had built up since Watkins Glen has vanished. It looked like the 31 team was heading in the right direction, but they took a giant step backwards. It didn't help that he cut a tire and slapped the wall. He was briefly in the top 10 but went backwards shortly thereafter.
THE UGLY
Jimmie Johnson: he's been on this list more times in recent weeks than in the last five years put together. Perhaps he IS feeling the pressure of defending his title yet again. Or perhaps other drivers are taking more liberties in pushing JJ around. Harvick started that at Fontana when he shoved JJ into turn 3 much harder than JJ wanted to enter the turn. (By the time JJ righted the car, Harvick drove past him for the win.) The reason he's in the Ugly category is because of his post-race whining about Kurt Busch. (I think Busch is living in JJ's head rent-free.) JJ got loose, made contact with Busch, and slapped the wall. Actually, Busch being there saved JJ from a MUCH worse situation where he could have finished in the upper 30s, so he should THANK Busch for that.
Those are my nominees for the race. Feel free to come in with yours!
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4 comments:
Hey Jon!
Good win for your Mr. Harvick! Now we get down to the rubber meeting the road... Ricky Craven said the other day on ESPN's pre-Richmond practice coverage that the agreed takeover of KHI by RCR and Kevin's resulting freedom to just be a race driver should put Happy into the Cup Championship since he'll be able to concentrate on simply driving. I don't think it was a coincidence that Kevin ended up a very eventful week in his racing career in victory lane.
I expect all the feuds to be put on hold for a few races, but we'll see!
gotta give an ugly to Vader's interviewer...cutting Kurt's quote about not racing for the sole purpose of gaining a reaction. I bet when (if?) Jimmie listens to Kurt's full interview, he'll know what Kurt actually meant instead of that poor excuse for sensationalism.
Marcos goes into ugly as well....not sure exactly what he was thinking, but Vickers was well within his right to be highly ticked off at him.
Man oh man what a race and post race!
Congrats to Harvick - so you think anything to the conspiracy theorists saying Menard spun to help Harvick?
The race was the perfect setup for payback for the Chasers already in. I agree with Tez - what Kurt said OVERALL in the post race interview is dead on and Jamie Little's rephrasing for JJ was not exactly what he said. Vadar is used to running away with equipment.
Any bets on Kurt getting fined for ripping up poor miss Jenna's paper?? That media center stuff was priceless!
Hey Dwindy! Thanks! I wish I'd have taken him in the Trifecta on the Cup side and ESad on the Nationwide side! Oh well. I think that was a HUGE burden lifted from Kevin's shoulders. Now all he has to do is race. I think he'll be the one to dethrone JJ this year. JJ seems distracted and not as focused as last year. The 29 had the same chassis they used at Martinsville, and they won there. I bet they use it again at the Big Paper Clip.
Tez, I'm sure that JJ listened to Kurt's full interview; hence the two hashing things out. This wasn't one of Marcos' better races. Hopefully he'll rebound in Chicago.
Kristen, Menard was loose all evening--he had an ill-handling car. His spinout was the capper on a crappy night. So no, I don't buy into that conspiracy theory. Jamie Little should KNOW better. I think she's trying to sow further discord between JJ and Kurt. I think JJ listened to Kurt's FULL interview; hence the two drivers hashing things out. But I think they are going to keep a wary eye on each other. Indirectly, Kurt's helping Kevin by keeping JJ's focus off #6. Kevin is so locked in to winning his first Cup title I won't be surprised if he wins a couple of Chase races and AVERAGES a top 5 finish in the final 10 races.
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